Psycho Circus
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Publication |
September 22, 1998 |
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| Label (s) | Mercury Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
47:03 |
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Psycho Circus is the 18th studio album by the American hard rock band Kiss . It was recorded in 1998 after the band achieved considerable touring success with their 1996 reunion. The LP reached the top ten in several countries and was awarded gold status . However, it only contains one track that was actually recorded by the group's four original members, namely the song Into the Void, written by Ace Frehley .
History of origin
Classification in the musical background
The previous album Carnival of Souls was recorded in 1995/1996, but was not released until 1997 - five years after the previous album. Due to the reunion of the original band line-up, the record company did not think the timing for the release of the album was right. Because the band could not be heard in the reunited original line-up on Carnival of Souls . The reactions of the fans and buyers were correspondingly restrained. On this album Kiss experimented with grunge and a dark hard rock / heavy metal melange. The album sounds more modern and song-technically constructive and pursues a contemporary style concept in the semi-hard mid-tempo area. Both the singing and the instrumental music are comparatively slow, lengthy, deep and sometimes melancholy. Carnival of Souls was the last album of the unmasked era.
Kiss were significantly more productive in the previous decades. In the 1970s they recorded two albums a year. The frequency slowed down in the 1980s to a one-year or two-year rhythm and then slowed down again in the 1990s to an interval of up to five years. There are eleven years between Psycho Circus and the follow-up album Sonic Boom , which was released in 2009 .
Origin and result
The original line-up first dissolved in 1980 with the departure of drummer Peter Criss. In 1982, lead guitarist Ace Frehley followed, who also left the band. In the years 1983 to 1995 appearances were made exclusively without masking. The CDs also showed the band only without make-up. Due to an MTV Unplugged broadcast in August 1995, in which the old band members Criss and Frehley also appeared, the band decided to appear in the original formation as well as with make-up. In 1996 the hugely successful Kiss Alive / Worldwide Tour followed . The album Psycho Circus was produced during the time of the joint concerts. The collaboration ended again in 2001 when Criss left the band. Ace Frehley followed him in 2002 over internal disputes.
Paul Stanley commented on the result of the album: “I think it's a sensational album. I think 'Psycho Circus' is one of our best albums, but it also contains some parts that I don't really like. On the whole, however, I am very happy with it and with what I have contributed to it. […] I think a lot of things just went wrong on the album. But I did everything I could to ensure that the album didn't lose the last bit of integrity. "
Gene Simmons saw it similarly: “Most of the tracks on the album show clearly that the band has achieved something. I think it's one of our better discs. "
Ace Frehley was happy with the result, but not with the way the LP was made: “I think it was a good album; What I didn't find so cool, though, was that Peter and I didn't really play on the album. I would have loved to record all of my parts myself. "
Technician Mike Plotnikoff put it: “The fact that Ace and Peter did not play 'Psycho Circus' themselves was based on a decision made by Bruce (Fairbairn). Although Gene and Paul wanted the original members to appear on the album, when Bruce heard Ace and Peter play on the pre-production of the album, they found that their playing style did not match the type of album he had in mind. "
Producer Bruce Fairbairn: “Albums are like snapshots because they represent a very specific period in the musical development of the band. For me, 'Psycho Circus' is a successful snapshot that shows exactly what musical level the band was at that time found. "
Danny Goldberg, manager of the record company Mercury Records , was critical of the album's sales: “I thought 'Psycho Circus' was a really good album, but it wasn't very successful. These are two very different worlds: On tour, for example, you live off nostalgia. The fans want to hear 'Rock and Roll All Nite', Gene Simmons spit fire and see Paul jumping around on stage. They want to be able to say they saw Kiss. On the other hand, they also have twenty-five or thirty albums for sale that contain all of their songs. In order to sell a new record well, you need a hit; as simple as that."
Track list
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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- 5:30 am Psycho Circus vocals: Paul Stanley; Text and music: Paul Stanley, Curtis Cuomo
- 5:10 Within vocals: Gene Simmons; Text and music: Gene Simmons
- 3:32 I Pledge Allegiance to the State of Rock & Roll Vocals: Paul Stanley; Text and music: Paul Stanley, Curtis Cuomo, Holly Knight
- 4:24 Into the Void vocals: Ace Frehley; Text and music: Ace Frehley, Karl Cochran
- 4:41 We Are One vocals: Gene Simmons; Text and music: Gene Simmons
- 4:15 You Wanted the Best Vocals: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss; Text and music: Gene Simmons
- 4:14 Raise Your Glasses Vocals: Paul Stanley; Text and music: Paul Stanley, Holly Knight
- 3:40 I Finally Found My Way Vocals: Peter Criss; Text and music: Paul Stanley, Bob Ezrin
- 4:12 Dreamin ' vocals: Paul Stanley; Text and music: Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick
- 4:49 Journey of 1,000 Years Vocals: Gene Simmons; Text and music: Gene Simmons
In 1999 a “limited edition” of the album was released. It was accompanied by a live CD.
- Psycho Circus (Live) - 5:34
- Let Me Go, Rock'n'Roll (Live) - 5:33
- Into the Void (Live) - 9:10
- Within (Live) - 7:57
- 100,000 Years (Live) - 5:17
- Black Diamond (Live) - 6:12
Chart successes
album
Overall, the album was very successful and reached the top ten in several countries. In Australia and Sweden the LP reached number 1, in Canada number 2 and in the USA number 3. In Norway the album was successful at number 4 and in Germany at number 5. In Japan the work was at number 20, in Austria at number 25 and in Switzerland at number 30. The album was comparatively lower at number 47 in Great Britain.
The album reached gold status in the US.
Singles
There were three outcouples. The opening song 'Psycho Circus' was number 4 in Sweden, number 8 in Norway, and number 10 in Canada. 22 was in Australia and 98 in the Netherlands. The other singles 'We Are One' and 'You Wanted the Best' did not make it into the top ten in any country.
Reviews
- Heavy or what? said in issue 9/1998: “On the contrary, the album is conceptually structured in such a way that it can be seamlessly integrated into the epoch of albums from 'Kiss' to 'Love Gun'. Of course the sound sounds a lot more contemporary, but after all we are at the end of the nineties and so things are perfectly fine. "
- TV Today said in September 1998: “Your work is a self-parody, but it still cracks a lot. Only: Who can still hear that today? "
- Breakout said in issue 10/1998: “Sorry, but Kiss in the original make-up was always concentrated rock'n'roll entertainment that took you into another world for two hours, while the four were on stage. More than two pieces from 'Psycho Circus' are unlikely to sneak into the well-known set list on the upcoming tour. Too little."
- Metal Hammer said in issue 10/1998: "Kiss did not play it safe with this album, as feared: There are not only party hits and stadium anthems - in this respect, 'Psycho Circus' can be compared with 'Destroyer' (1976)."
- EMP catalog said in 1998: “Be that as it may, this does not change the successful impression of 'Psycho Circus'. Because, to everyone's satisfaction, the gentlemen don't even try to chase after the zeitgeist of the 90s, but rather brush their current compositions strictly towards the 70s. That means: Melodies rule, plus a healthy mixture of Hollywood theatrics, hard guitars and poppy attitudes. "
- Rolling Stone said in issue 10/1998: “The seventies revival was the last step: Finally an end to all the further development and the eternal 'new challenges'. […] This record is not absolutely needed. The band, however, very much. Who else shed so much blood for a good show? "
- Musik Express said in issue 10/1998: “Most of the rest can look forward to a rock solid, mainstream hard rock album, on which the band, contrary to the fears expressed in many places, largely dispenses with reminiscences of the sound aesthetics of the 70s. […] (Kiss) concentrate on their undoubted strengths: loud guitar riffs and anthemic vocal choruses. [...] Despite the small and big weaknesses, 'Psycho Circus' is not a disappointment, just not a groundbreaking album. "
- Orkus said in issue 10/1998: “The sound of the album is a bit rougher than on the albums of the last few years. But that's not the only reason why 'Psycho Circus' is definitely the best Kiss album in at least 16 years. "
- Visions said in issue 10/1998: “And so your new piece of work 'Psycho Circus' turns out to be indictment. [...] Kiss only dismantle themselves with records like 'Psycho Circus'. "
- Sonic Seducer said in issue 10/1998: "'Psycho Circus' is by no means a bad album [...] They are still rocky, and the charismatic catchy tunes have remained."
- Rock Box said in issue 10/1998: “With a few exceptions, the songs, which are sometimes overloaded with clichés, sound like they were from the reserve fund in the rearmost shelf. [...] 'Psycho Circus' is a musical and visual self-copy that never comes close to earlier heydays and that makes the sense of this reunion - apart from grandiose live shows - questionable. "
- X-Act said in 1998/99: "Kiss punished their critics by producing an incredibly straight album, which combined tried-and-tested song knitting patterns and absolutely contemporary elements of modern rock music and thus enabled the band to easily connect with the new generation of rock."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ace Frehley, Joe Layden: No Regrets . MTV Books, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4516-1394-0 , p. 264.
- ^ Rock Hard 1997
- ↑ Rock Box 1997
- ^ Metal Hammer 1997
- ↑ EMP 1997/1998
- ↑ a b Metal Hammer , edition 10/1998
- ↑ a b c d David Leaf, Ken Sharp: Kiss unmasked: The official biography , translated by Franziska Schöttner. 1st edition. IP Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-931624-28-5 , p. 337
- ↑ a b David Leaf, Ken Sharp: Kiss unmasked: The official biography , translated by Franziska Schöttner. 1st edition. IP Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-931624-28-5 , p. 339
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US
- ↑ kissfaq.com album charts
- ↑ riaa.com
- ↑ kissfaq.com single charts
- ↑ Heavy or what? , Edition 9/1998
- ^ TV Today , September 26, 1998 issue
- ↑ Breakout , edition 10/1998
- ↑ EMP catalog 1998
- ^ Rolling Stone , Edition 10/1998
- ↑ Musik Express , edition 10/1998
- ↑ Orkus , edition 10/1998
- ↑ Visions , edition 10/1998
- ↑ Sonic Seducer , edition 10/1998
- ↑ Rock Box , issue 10/1998
- ^ X-Act , 1998/99
